The Accident
by rebafreak
Summary: I'm not exactly sure what to put here, so you'll just have to read it to find out! Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay this is my frst story. It's kinda long, but please R&R so I know if you want me to keep going on it! Thanks a bunch for reading!

**Chapter One**

"No I won't go with you to find Barbara Jean!" Reba stated staring at Brock. "I can't believe you would even think that I would be remotely interested in that. I am your ex-wife! When you knocked up your hygienist you lost the right to ask for my help."

"Please Reba, I really need your help." Brock pleaded. "Besides, if I don't find Barbara Jean you know I'm going to be spending more and more time over at your…"

"Alright, alright!" Reba cut him off. "I'll help you find Barbara Jean. But just know that I'm only helping you because I don't want you spending any more time at my house than you already do."

Brock just grinned like a fool. He knew she would agree to help if he played the right cards. He really did want to find Barbara Jean. He couldn't believe that she had just up and left. He knew their marriage was at a rough spot, but she didn't let him even have a chance to try to fix it. She just took Henry and left. Brock's smile slowly began to fade as he thought about her taking their son. He knew that cheating on Reba was a mistake, but he also knew that when he found out Barbara Jean was pregnant that he had to help her. It was his fault after all.

"Brock?" Reba asked again for the fifth time. "BROCK!"

"Huh? What?" He asked finally coming out of his thoughts. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Yeah, I noticed." Reba said.

"What did you need?" Brock questioned.

"Well, I was just asking you where we are going to start this search for Barbara Jean. Do you have any ideas of where she might have gone?" Reba asked him.

"No, not really. I mean I guess she may have gone to Fisheye Bottom. Or she did get that job offer in Little Rock." Brock said. "But I don't know. She won't answer her phone. I tried calling Big Daddy, but of course he won't tell me."

"I'll call Buzzard." Reba chimed in.

"What? You mean her brother that stole one of my eyebrows?" Brock asked incredulously.

"Yeah. He gave me his number when he showed up here for Thanksgiving. I've never called him before, but he might know something about Barbara Jean's whereabouts." Reba told him pulling out her cell phone.

"But Reba…" Brock began.

"Shhh…It's ringing." Reba took a deep breath. "Hey Buzzard!...Yeah, it's Reba….Oh yeah. How have you been…I'm doing fine. I have a question for you….No it's not about dating." Reba chuckled. "Have you happened to have any contact with Barbara Jean recently?...Oh, so you have talked to her." Reba looked at Brock. "So she's there in Fisheye Bottom…Okay. Thanks Buzzard….Yeah you too….Okay bye."

"He actually told you?" Brock asked.

"What can I say? I have a way with men." Reba quipped.

"Yeah I know." Brock said quietly, but Reba still heard.

Reba just shook it off. 'What does he mean he knows?' Reba thought. 'He just didn't know what else to say.' She told herself.

"So what are we going to do now?" Brock asked bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Well…" she began then paused to take a deep breath. "I suppose we should get packed up. I will give this one week Brock. If we haven't found her in one week I'm done. I'm not going to hunt all over for your wife for weeks on end. I have a life that consists of work and taking care of our children. I can't just stop my life to figure out yours. Okay?"

"Okay." Brock agreed. "One week." He took a breath and said, "I guess I'll go home and pack. Do you wanna head out tonight or would you rather head out tomorrow morning?"

"The sooner the better I guess. Be back in an hour and we can head out." Reba said opening the door for him.

He turned to leave, then just outside the door turned back to face her. "Thanks Reba. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah. Just go get packed." Reba said as she shut the door then headed up the stairs to pack for herself.

Forty-five minutes later Brock walked through the door. Reba was asleep on the couch with her headphones in her ears listening to her iPod. Her luggage was all ready to go sitting next to the door. Brock walked over to her and lightly brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She didn't budge. 'I guess I'll go take her luggage out to the truck.' Brock thought to himself.

When he came back in from getting everything packed up she was still out. He walked back over to her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her just enough to wake her. All she did was groan. "Just five more minutes Jake, five more minutes."

Brock couldn't help but chuckle. His laugh woke Reba up with a start, "Ahhh. What the heck do ya think you're doin' Brock?"

"Sorry…I got your luggage all packed and came in to wake you up, but…" he let out another chuckle, "Just five more minutes Jake, five more minutes." Then he started laughing.

"Oh shut-up you mo-ron." Reba quipped. "I told you an hour. It's only been," she glanced at her watch and blushed, "an hour. Sorry Brock, I thought I had set the alarm on my phone."

"It's okay Reba. Are you ready to go?" He asked finally getting his chuckling under control.

"I gotta double check with work and make sure they know that I'm going to be gone. Thankfully I don't have any houses to show this week. Then I gotta make sure that it's okay with Van and Cheyenne if Jake stays with them while I'm gone. I can't leave him home alone." Reba started making her list of things to do.

"How about I call Van and Cheyenne about Jake while you check with work?" Brock asked, hoping he could be somewhat of a help after the way she was dropping everything to help him.

"Thanks. That would be great." She replied as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, Brock did the same.

"Hey Alex…It's Reba…I'm doin' fine. I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna need to take a week of vacation time….no, no, no, nothing like that." She giggled. "I'm going with my ex to find his wife…Yeah I know it sounds crazy, but crazy works for us…Yeah, okay thanks. I'll see you next week. Bye Alex." Reba hung up the phone and turned around to see Brock just staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I just feel awful that you're using your vacation time to go on a wild goose chase with me." He admitted as he hung his head.

"Yeah, me too." Reba joked trying to lighten the mood.

"Reba really, if you don't want to go I completely understand. I know it's crazy of me to ask you to do this. I just don't think I can do it myself." He stated.

"Brock it's fine. I mean it's kinda selfish of me." She chuckled. "Who am I gonna make fun of if Barbara Jean isn't around?"

"What? That's the only reason you are willing to help me?" he asked her.

"Well…" she said with her southern drawl.

"What do you mean 'Well'?" he asked wanting her to go on.

"That's only part of it. I also don't want you hanging around here all the time." She said matter-of-factly as she breezed past him. "Oh, did you get in-touch with Van and Cheyenne. She just realized that he was on the phone when she was talking to Alex."

"Yeah. They said Jake could stay there." Brock told her.

"Okay. Then I think we are ready." Reba said, then muttered to herself, "At least as ready as I'll ever be."

They got in the car to head to Fisheye Bottom. It was going to be a long ride. Brock didn't really know what to say, but he knew he needed to say something. They had been in the car for nearly an hour and it had been silent the whole time. Brock decided to turn on the radio. He automatically switched it to a country station knowing that it was Reba's favorite. Reba glared at him when he first turned it on, but as the sound of her new favorite song began to fill the cab, her anger melted away and she began to sing along.

"_Cowgirls don't cry, ride, baby ride. _

_Lessons in life show us all in time. _

_Soon enough you're gonna know why. _

_It's gonna hurt every now and then. _

_If you fall, get back on again. _

_Cowgirls don't cry."_

Reba sang along never missing a lyric. Slowly a smile spread across Brock's face. He always had thought that Reba had an amazing voice. He chuckled to himself. It must have been louder than he thought though, because before he knew it, Reba had stopped singing and asked, "What are you laughin' at?"

"Oh sorry. I'm not laughing at anything." Brock quickly recovered.

"Sure you weren't." Reba said rolling her eyes. "Now tell me Brock, what were you laughin' at?"

"Okay, okay. I was just thinking about how you always joke around that you thought you would end up as a singer." He said letting a small chuckle escape.

"And what's so funny about that?" Reba asked with an irritated tone and a deathly glare.

"Well, if looks could kill, I think I'd be dead right now." Brock commented sarcastically.

"Trust me Brock, if looks could kill, you would have been dead a long, long time ago." Reba replied icily.

"Gosh Reba, I was just joking." Brock said, the hurt evident in his voice.

"Well, it isn't funny. And why is it so funny to you that I want, no wanted to be a singer." Reba snapped back.

"It isn't funny. What I was laughing at is that you loved me enough to put your dreams on hold to put me through dental school." He replied.

"Why is it funny that I loved you?" Reba asked quietly, a little stunned by what he had just said.

"It isn't funny that you loved me…you know what, just forget it okay?" Brock asked glancing at her and pleading with his eyes.

"Fine. How much longer 'til we get there Brock? I really need some fresh air." Reba stated, hiding the hurt with annoyance. She couldn't believe that he thought it was funny, and eventually she would get him to admit why he felt that way.

"About four more hours or so." Brock stated.

Reba never had a problem before, but all of the sudden, she was feeling really car sick. "Brock, I have to get some air…NOW!" she said, trying hard not to yell at him.

"We can pull over, but there's a rest stop here in about five minutes, can it wait that long?" Brock asked.

"Not if you don't want the truck to smell the rest of the way to Fisheye Bottom it can't." Reba replied.

"Oh, okay." Brock said, understanding what she meant immediately. "I thought you didn't get car sick."

"Yeah, I didn't either, but apparently being confined with you for this long has changed something. Now would you please pull over?" Reba asked once again.

"Okay." Brock pulled over onto the shoulder of the interstate.

Reba climbed out of the truck and almost immediately lost the contents of her stomach. She couldn't figure out why she was all of the sudden so sick. She was just thinking another wave was going to hit her when she felt hands pull the hair back away from her face and hold it at her neck. At first she was startled and jumped a little, then she heard Brock say, "It's just me Reba."

"Brock just get back in the truck. I'll be fine. You don't need to see this." Just as she finished her sentence she started to heave again.

"Reba, I've gone through morning sickness with you three times. Trust me, I can handle it." Brock said.

Reba realized he wasn't about to give up and just get back in the truck, so she tried her best to ignore him. The problem was every little brush of contact that he had with her skin sent a shiver down her spine and set her heart on fire. She couldn't explain why she was feeling this way, so she just kept it to herself and tried her best not to let Brock know. After all, he was in love with her best friend, although she would never admit that to anyone.

"Thanks Brock. I think I'm okay to go again now. I'm really sorry about that." Reba said looking straight into his eyes.

"It's okay. Are you sure you're good to go?" Brock asked. Reba could hear the concern in his voice when he asked, and it made her heart stop for just a second. She hadn't heard him talk with that tone of voice to her since before their marriage hit the rocks. It was the way he talked to her when she was sick when they were married.

"Yeah Brock. I'm fine." She said, a slight tremble in her voice.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. Fisheye Bottom is still another four hours away, so we will take the next exit and find a hotel for the night. I was going to ask you if you would mind taking a turn driving, but you being sick and all I think it would be better for us to just get some sleep and then go the rest of the way in the morning."

"You know I really am fine. Just let me drive." Reba said.

"No Reba. We are going to spend the night somewhere because even if we do just drive straight through, we won't be able to talk to Barbara Jean 'til tomorrow anyway, because by the time we get there it will be one o'clock in the morning anyway. I'm sorry Reba, but you aren't going to win this one. Besides, you are looking a little pale." Brock said.

"Brock, I have very fair skin. I always look a little pale." Reba rolled her eyes and stated the obvious.

"I'm sorry Reba. I win. We are going to find somewhere to stay. Now will you please get back in the truck?" he asked politely holding the passenger side door open for her.

"And what if I refuse?" she shot back.

"Then I guess you will be spending the night right here on the side of the interstate." He stated and shut her door and headed around for the other side of the truck.

Reba was already in the truck in her seat and buckled up by the time Brock got over to his side of the truck and opened the door. He chuckled a bit then asked, "So you decided to come with me?"

"Are you kidding me Brock, you were gonna leave me here in the middle of nowhere five miles from a truck stop. Do you really think I would just stay on the side of the interstate with all those truckers coming through here?" Reba asked with an icy glare.

"No." Brock said simply. "I knew you wouldn't. That's why I said that." He flashed her a grin.

Reba punched his arm. "Why do you think you know me so well Brock?" she asked angrily.

"Reba, I've known you for thirty years. We dated for four, were married for twenty, have three beautiful children, and even though we're divorced, you've been my best friend for the past six years. You get to know someone pretty well when you spend that much time with them." Brock told her.

"Fine." Was all she said before turning and staring out her window.

Brock waited for a break in traffic before pulling back onto the interstate. Reba wouldn't talk to him at all. She was still angry at him for tricking her like he did. Deep down she knew he wouldn't have left her there alone, but just the thought had her play right into his hands. That was the part that made her the most angry. Suddenly she felt the truck jerk. She looked over to Brock.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well, this semi next to us is driving way to close to the line, and there is a barrier right there on your side, so I am just trying to stay safe." He replied.

"Oh, sorry I wasn't really paying much attention." She said softly.

"It's okay." Brock said.

That was when it happened. The semi next to them began to cross into their lane. Reba screamed, "Brock it's coming over."

There wasn't much Brock could do but slam on the brakes, so that is exactly what he did. All of the sudden, the front end of his truck was hit by the tail end of the semi which spun them around so they were facing oncoming traffic. The next few seconds so much happened, but for Reba and Brock it seemed like an eternity. Another semi was coming down the lane they were in, but it swerved over to the other lane to avoid hitting them. Just behind the semi was a pickup truck that hit them head on. Reba flew into the dash and hit her head on the windshield. Brock hit the steering wheel, which knocked the wind out of him for a few he finally came to, he looked over to Reba. Her head had a large gash and was bleeding badly. He went to pull his cell phone out of his pocket when he heard someone knock on his window. He rolled it down and the man standing there asked, "Are you okay?"

Brock looked over to Reba; he gently shook her and said, "Reba?" There was no response. Then he turned to the man at the window. "I'm okay, but I think she's knocked out. I was just going to call 911."

"Don't worry, they have already been contacted and help is on the way. Look man, I'm sorry about that, the semi in front of me swerved and all of the sudden you were there. I didn't see you and I couldn't stop in time." He apologized.

"Look it's okay. We just need to get her to the hospital." Brock said.

"Yeah okay. My name is Cameron. I'm gonna go back to my truck until the police arrive. If you need anything just come get me." He said politely.

"Okay thanks. My name is Brock." The men shook hands through the window of the truck before Cameron turned to head back to his truck.

It was two minutes later Brock could hear sirens approaching. He glanced over and Reba and reached his hand out to softly stroke her soft skin. "Reba. Honey. You gotta make it through this. I don't think I can live without you." He said, then the tears began to roll down his face. He wanted to take her into his arms, but the way the truck had been smashed, he was pinned between the seat and the steering wheel. He looked over to her once again, then looked up to see the officer coming up to his window.

"I'm Officer Brady. Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, but Reba, she's not." Brock said, tears still silently falling. "Please, you gotta help her first."

"Hey I need rescue over here. Passenger side, female, unconscious." He yelled to the other officers and paramedics.

They rushed over and started to get her out of the truck. Officer Brady began to ask Brock questions, but Brock couldn't focus on what he was being asked. He was too nervous about how Reba was doing.

"Sir, the quicker you can answer these questions for me the quicker we can get you to the hospital to be with your wife." Officer Brady stated.

"Okay." Brock said, not bothering to correct the officer.

"Can you tell me what happened?" The officer asked. Brock told him exactly what happened. He also added, "That first semi is probably long gone though."

"Nope actually he stopped right up there when he hit the barrier. The driver had fallen asleep." The officer stated.

"He what?" Brock wanted to have a chance at the driver. Brock determined that if he lost Reba he was going to go after that driver.

"I'm sorry sir. Let's just get you out of this truck and into the ambulance with your wife."

Again Brock didn't bother to correct him. They got Brock out of the truck and were leading him to a second ambulance that was just getting to the scene. "No. I want to go with her." He said as he turned to the ambulance they had just finished loading Reba in.

"I'm sorry sir." Officer Brady stated. "You can't."

"Then I'm not going, so either you let me ride with her, or I'll call family, and wait 'til they come to get me." Brock said.

"Okay fine." The officer gave in.

Brock climbed into the ambulance with Reba. She was very pale and the gash on her head was a stark contrast to her beautiful skin. He took one of her hands into his and said, "Reba you have to make it through this. I can't live without you. I love you so much."

Reba's eyes began to flutter. The paramedics pushed Brock out of the way and began to ask her questions. When she opened her eyes all the way, they were full of sheer panic and horror. She reached for the oxygen mask that was covering her nose and mouth and pulled it off. The paramedics tried to put it back on her, but she started to speak. "Wha – wha – where am I? What happened?" she asked, very confused. "Where is my husband?"

Brock inhaled sharply. The paramedic then asked. "What is your husband's name?"

"Brock. Brock Hart." She stated.

Brock nearly fell over from the shock of hearing her say that. She thought they were still married.

"He's right over there." The paramedic responded.

"Brock." She called out weakly.

"Yes." He said, his mind racing. He thought he really should tell someone they were not married anymore, but one look into Reba's deep blue, tear and panic filled eyes changed his mind. "I'm right here honey." He took her hand in his again, as the ambulance began to speed toward the nearest hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Once they arrived at the hospital, she was taken quickly through the double doors and wheeled down the hall. Brock was going to follow her, but a nurse put a hand on his chest and said, "I'm sorry sir, but you can't go past this point."

Brock nodded his head. He was still reeling from the fact that Reba thought they were still married. Brock spent the next hour and a half pacing the floor of the waiting room. 'What about the last six years.' He wondered. 'What about all the fighting? What about Barbara Jean?' It was then that it hit him. "Barbara Jean." He said aloud. It was just after ten thirty, so he figured he would just call and leave her a message. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. "Well, here goes." Brock said to himself as he put the phone up to his ear. "One…Two….Three…" he was counting the rings. He was just about to say four when he heard, "Brock, I know why you're calling and I'm sorry I just up and left, but it was the best thing for me. I really am sorry though." Barbara Jean was rambling.

"Brock…Brock…BROCK!!!" she shouted finally getting him to snap out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry. Who is this?" Brock asked somewhat still not feeling completely coherent.

"It's Barbara Jean. Remember, you called me?" she said annoyed.

"Oh, Barbara Jean." He said.

"Yeah. Brock what is wrong with you. You seem kinda out of it." Barbara Jean said.

"Well Barbara Jean, I need to tell you something very important." Brock said solemnly.

"Okay." Barbara Jean began, "but I just want you to know that I just need a little bit of time to sort things out before I see you. I'm here in Fisheye Bottom. Buzzard told me Reba called him and I knew that wasn't something she would do just for fun, so I called and talked to Cheyenne, and she said you and Reba were on your way here…."

Brock cut her off. "Reba…."

"Yes, Brock, Reba." Barbara Jean said. "The woman you love."

"Barbara Jean, I love you. That's why we were coming to find you." Brock said.

"Brock, please just give me a little time, and it's okay I know you still have feelings for her. That's a big part of the reason I left. Everyone knows you have feelings for her but you. And Brock I want you to know that it's okay. I think you need to give Reba another chance."

He cut her off again. "Reba…."

"Brock, why are you acting so strange?" Barbara Jean asked.

"Barbara Jean, I have to tell you something." Brock said. "I just don't know where to start." He paused and took a deep breath.

"Brock, just tell me please." Barbara Jean said with an annoyed tone.

"Well, I convinced Reba to come help me find you. We were on our way to Fisheye Bottom when something terrible happened." Brock started. "We were…we were…"

"Brock, would you please just spit it out already?" Barbara Jean said impatiently.

"We were in a wreck Barbara Jean." He said.

"WHAT!?!? What happened? Are you okay? Is Reba okay?" she started spitting out one question right after the other, but just as she was asking about Reba, the doctor walked through the double doors where they had taken Reba nearly two hours ago. Brock shut the phone, hanging up on Barbara Jean in the process, and shoved it back in his pocket. He then went to stand in front of the doctor.

"How is she?" He asked, his voice breaking.

"We have her stable, and I think she is going to be okay, but she is asking for you." The doctor said. "I am Doctor Hunt. I can show you to your wife's room."

Brock decided he should probably tell someone he wasn't her husband, so he stopped the doctor before they walked through the doors to go to her room. "Doctor Hunt?"

"Yes" she replied.

"I just need to let you know that I am actually Reba's ex-husband." Brock stated quietly.

"Oh." She said. "Well, who is her nearest relative then?"

"Our children, but they are back in Houston." Brock said, then asked. "Can I see her now?"

"I'm sorry sir, but only family." She said.

"What? I am the closest thing to family that she has right now, and she is in there scared and alone," Brock could feel his anger rising, "and you are telling me that I can't go in and see her because I'm not family?"

Doctor Hunt nodded her head.

"Oh to hell with that." Brock stated as he walked past the doctor and through the double doors. Just on the other side of the double doors was a nurses' station. He walked up to see a pretty blonde that reminded him a lot of Cheyenne sitting at the desk.

"How can I help you sir?" she asked politely.

Brock quickly read her nametag, it said Rebecca. "Rebecca, I've been waiting to see my wife, Reba Hart. Doctor Hunt just came and told me she was asking for me. Could you tell me which room she is in?"

"Oh sure, she's in room 183." Rebecca said. "Down that hall," she pointed to the right. "Then it's the third door on your left."

"Thanks Rebecca." Brock then turned toward the way she pointed and headed to Reba's room.

He stopped and took a deep breath before reaching for the doorknob. Just as his hand hit the cool metal, he heard someone say, "Mr. Hart." He turned to see Doctor Hunt standing beside him with a disapproving look. "I just want to see her for a minute." Brock said.

"Mr. Hart, I'm going to let you see her, but as far as everyone is concerned, you are her husband." Doctor Hunt replied. "We can't let anyone know that you aren't technically related at all. Okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Now can I go see my wife?" he asked, playing the part of husband perfectly. It sounded so natural to him to call Reba his wife.

"Yes, please try not to upset her, and if she happens to be asleep, she needs all the rest she can get, so please don't wake her." The doctor answered.

"Okay." With that Brock gently turned the doorknob and walked into her room. When he saw her laying there on the bed, hooked up to a bunch of different wires, with a big white bandage around her head, his heart nearly stopped, and he let out a soft gasp.

Reba was asleep, but when Brock gasped she started to move. Brock walked over closer to the bed. He took in the sight of her just starting to wake up. He used to love to watch her wake when they were married. He would always wake up first and just lay in bed with her until she opened her beautiful blue eyes and looked into his eyes and right into his soul. It had been so long since that time, he thought he was over it, over her. But when she opened her eyes, he was instantly taken back to that time. He just wanted to hold her and protect her from everything that scared her.

Reba looked at Brock with wide eyes. She was aware of all the beeping, but she couldn't remember how she had got here or why they were at a hospital. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her throat was completely dry. She licked at her lips, then softly whispered, "Water."

Brock grabbed a mug off her bedside table and held it so she could get the straw in her mouth to take in some water. After she drank a few gulps, Brock asked, "Better?" She didn't try to speak to answer; she just nodded her head to let him know that she was better.

Reba looked around the room for a minute before deciding she better find out what is going on exactly. "Brock, honey, why are we in the hospital what is going on?" she asked, confusion evident.

"Well Reba, we were on our way to find Barbara Jean when we were in a terrible car accident." Brock started slowly not exactly sure what all she did remember. "You got a nasty gash in your forehead, and then you passed out so they brought you here to the hospital."

Reba just looked at him confused. "What is it Reba?" Brock asked.

"Well, you just said we were on our way to find Barbara Jean, but I don't know who that is?" Reba stated.

"Barbara Jean is…" he let his voice trail off. It wasn't until that moment that he realized that when she asked him why they were here that she had referred to him as 'honey'.

"Yes Brock?" Reba said.

"Reba, I need to go ask the doctor a few questions okay?" Brock asked looking into her bottomless blue eyes. "I'll be right back." He waited for a response, and when she nodded that he was okay to go, he stood up and walked over to the door.

"Brock," her soft voice stopped him in his tracks and he turned to look at her. "I love you."

He just stared at her stunned. He hadn't heard those words from her in over 7 years. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to tell her he loved her because that is how he felt, but what about Barbara Jean?

"Brock?" she brought him out of his own thoughts.

"Sorry, what?" he asked

"I love you Brock." She repeated her words from a few moments ago.

"I…I…" Brock stuttered. "I'll be right back okay Reba?"

She just stared at him shocked as he opened the door and disappeared into the hallway. He always told her he loved her too. She was so confused. She stared at the door. She could feel the tears starting to come. What did she do wrong? Didn't he love her anymore? She just didn't know what to do so she just laid down facing the wall and let the tears fall.

Once he was out in the hall, Brock released the breath he had been holding. He walked up to the nurses' station that was just outside Reba's door. He noticed that Rebecca was still on duty. She was focusing on the computer at the desk. He cleared his throat hoping to not startle her. She looked up at him. "Hello Mr. Hart. How is your wife?" She asked with a smile.

"Well, I need to know where I can find Doctor Hunt. Do you happen to know where she might be?" he asked politely.

"She's in with another patient. Is something wrong with Mrs. Hart?" Rebecca asked, concern apparent in her voice.

"She's…she's…she's" Brock tried, not quite able to get the words out.

"Mr. Hart do I need to call a nurse to check on Mrs. Hart?" Rebecca asked a little nervously.

"No, sorry." Brock said. "She is fine. However, I really, really need to talk to Doctor Hunt. Is there any way to page her?"

"She is just doing a check on a patient, but if it's life or death I will page her." Rebecca answered.

"No, no, it's fine." Brock said. He let out a sigh. "When you see her next will you please have her come talk to me?"

Brock turned to head back to Reba's room. He hesitated at the door for just a moment before reaching for the doorknob and walking into her room. He sighed when he saw Reba rolled toward the wall. Brock shut the door as quietly as he could, hoping that if she were asleep he wouldn't wake her. He didn't know what he was going to say to her. He really needed to talk to the doctor.

Brock tiptoed across the room with the chair over by the window as his goal. He was about half way there when he heard Reba start to mumble in her sleep. "What did I do wrong? How come he doesn't love me anymore?"

Brock stopped dead in his tracks. He thought she didn't love her? How could she think that? It wasn't that at all. It was the fact that he now had a new family. He had made a huge mistake when he slept with Barbara Jean, and he knew it, but he had to own up to his actions. He thought he and Reba were over long before the whole thing with Barbara Jean. That was part of the reason he had slept with her in the first place. He didn't think Reba loved him anymore. He had always and would always love her. He walked over to the foot of her bed so he could see her face. When he noticed the lines the tears had left all over her face, it broke her heart. He had vowed to himself that after seeing her cry when he told her everything that had happened with Barbara Jean, that he would never make her cry again. He was trying to decide whether he should just go wait in the hall for the doctor, sit in the chair by the window, or climb up on the bed with Reba and take her in his arms and never let her go.

He knew the last one probably wasn't his brightest idea, seeing as Reba thought they were still married, but to him it was the best idea. He walked around to the side of her bed deciding that it couldn't hurt. It wasn't like Barbara Jean would ever see him if he were to lay with Reba in the bed. He wasn't going to be doing anything, just comforting her. Just as he was about to climb onto the bed, there was a soft knock at the door. Brock walked over and opened the door, revealing Doctor Hunt on the other side.

"Rebecca said you needed to talk to me and that it sounded urgent." She stated looking from Brock to Reba.

"Yeah." Brock said quietly. "Can we talk outside for a minute?"

Doctor Hunt nodded her head. They walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind them. Doctor Hunt waited for Brock to start, but he just stood there looking down at his feet. She didn't know exactly what the big emergency was because when she went into Reba's room everything seemed fine. She knew she didn't have time to waste, so she gently cleared her throat to get his attention.

Brock looked up at the doctor when he heard her clear her throat. "Oh, sorry." Brock began. "It's just that…" he paused for a moment. "Well, when I told Reba what had happened, she got confused. She…well…she thinks we are still married." He finally got out.

"This appears to be worse than I originally thought." Doctor Hunt stated.

"What do you mean?" Now Brock was confused.

"Well, I thought it was just a minor head bump. I mean I know it was enough to make her lose consciousness, but I think she may have gotten a concussion." She explained herself.

"A concussion? How do we find out for sure?" Brock asked. All he wanted was for Reba to be okay.

"Well, we will have to just watch her closely for the next couple of days to see if she has any abnormal behavior." She responded.

"The next couple of days? So she will need to be here in the hospital then?" Brock was just trying to figure out how he was going to find Barbara Jean and Henry when he was so worried about Reba. He decided that Reba would come first. Barbara Jean had left and as much as it hurt him, he knew it would nearly kill him if he ever lost Reba.

"Yeah, she'll need to be monitored for at least the next 48 hours just to make sure that it isn't serious. I am thinking she probably has short-term amnesia. That is why she thinks you are still her husband. And just to make sure we don't upset her further, I am going to need you to play the role of loving husband." The doctor said.

"Yeah…okay…that's fine. I can do that." Brock replied confidently.

"You also need to know Mr. Hart, that she could get her memory back at any moment, so you need to try to keep fantasy and reality separated so that you don't end up hurt in the end." She told him.

"Okay. I understand." Brock said. "It really won't be a problem though. The reason for this trip was to find my wife."

"Okay, as long as you have been informed." Doctor Hunt said, noticing the look in Brock's eyes. She had seen the look before. She knew he was still in love with Reba, but she didn't want to say anything. The situation was difficult enough without adding that to it. "Well, I have other patients to check on, so please just remember that for Reba's sake, you are still married, and your current wife doesn't exist." With that Doctor Hunt turned on her heel and walked away leaving Brock to his thoughts.

"Pretend," Brock sighed, then thought to himself, 'I don't have to pretend at all. Reba is the only woman I've ever wanted to call my wife. This is gonna be a piece of cake, until she remembers that we aren't together anymore, and that Barbara Jean is a part of the picture. I don't know if I can put her through that again. It might just kill me.'

With that he took a deep breath and walked back into Reba's room. She was still facing the wall, but Brock could tell she wasn't sleeping. He decided to chance it, "Reba? Are you awake?"

"No." Reba replied and Brock let out a small chuckle.

"You are awake, and I really need to see you're beautiful face." He said, hoping she would roll over and at least look at him. He really wanted her to talk to him, but he also knew it was his fault that she was upset in the first place. "Reba, please?" he asked.

Reba just stared at the wall. She didn't know if she was ready to face him yet.

"You know you can't ignore me forever." Brock stated.

Reba just sighed. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to admit it yet. She was still going to try to ignore him, at least for now.

"Reba, come on. Please talk to me." Brock began. "You know I won't go away that easy. I'm going to sit here and bug you until you talk to me. Just like when we were…"

"When we were what Brock?" Reba finally couldn't take it anymore. She knew he was serious about staying until she talked to him. She hoped that by starting to talk that he would go away sooner rather than later.

"Well, when we were…" It was then that Brock realized he couldn't complete that sentence without sending Reba into a world of complete and utter shock and confusion. "Well, when we were fight in the truck on the way to see Lori Ann."

"Brock, that doesn't make any sense. Now tell me what you were really going to say, and tell me now." Reba said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay Reba. You really want to know?" Brock asked, knowing she wouldn't, but hoping she would say no.

Reba just rolled her eyes and said, "Yes Brock, I really want to know."

"Well Reba…" Brock didn't know what to say.

"Come on Brock, hurry up, I don't have all day. I wanna get back to staring at the wall and sleeping." Reba retorted.

"Well, if me not telling you is keeping you from ignoring me, then I'm not going to tell you." Brock stated with a smirk, thinking he had won.

"You're not keeping me from ignoring you completely, just prolonging the inevitable." Reba said turning over again to resume her position facing the wall. 'If he thinks he's gonna win this he's crazier than I thought." She thought to herself, with a smirk.

"Reba, please don't do this. It really was nothing." Brock began. He knew he couldn't tell her what he was about to say. Not only did he not want her to have a panic attack, he wanted to play being her husband again. He knew he should want to go find Barbara Jean, but he knew that deep down he wasn't in love with her. Going to find her was just a stupid excuse to spend some alone time with Reba, although he would never admit that to anyone. Brock was hoping that if he could play the role of the loving husband that maybe Reba would fall for him all over again and he wouldn't have to worry about it only being pretend anymore. He could only hope things went his way.

"Brock, why can't you just tell me? Huh?" Reba asked, still facing the wall.

"Reba, it's kinda complicated. It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that the doctor told me it wouldn't be the best thing for you to hear right now." Brock replied, silently praying that this answer would be enough for her.

"Oh come on," Reba started, turning over to face Brock, "what does she know, she's only a doctor." They both let out a small chuckle. Brock was hoping that this meant she was going to let what he had said be enough and that she would still talk to him.

"So, how are ya feelin'?" Brock asked.

"I have a headache, but other than that I'm feeling pretty good." She responded.

"That's great news. Maybe we will be able to get out of this hospital in the middle of nowhere faster that I thought and we can just go home and be with the kids." Brock said, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

"Brock, why are we in the middle of nowhere? How long have we been here? Who's at home with the kids? I mean I know Cheyenne is old enough to watch Jake and Kyra, but do you remember last time we left her in charge?" Reba asked one question after another getting more and more puzzled.

Brock just stared at her and chuckled a bit at the last question. He did remember. He remembered all too well.

_flashback_

_Brock and Reba had just returned home from a nice night of just the two of them. They had gone to dinner and caught a movie. It had been a wonderful night. They arrived home and walked into the kitchen, and Reba heard voices in the living room._

"_Who's that with Cheyenne?" Reba asked pulling out of Brock's hug._

"_There's no one with Cheyenne, Reba. She's just watching TV." Brock said trying to pull her back into his arms, but Reba walked away just as he was reaching for her._

"_No Brock. That voice sounds so familiar." Reba responded._

"_Oh come on Reba, she's in there asleep with the TV on. Let's just go to bed." Brock said, wiggling his eyebrows._

"_No Brock, someone's in there with her. Listen." Reba said._

"_You know we could stand here and guess all night or we could just go in there and see." Brock retorted, a little frustrated that she had just brushed him off like that. He was really hoping for tonight to be extra special._

"_Yeah, I guess you're right. Come on." Reba said grabbing Brock's hand and walking into the living room._

"_What is going on here?" Reba shouted, when she saw Cheyenne sitting on the couch in a lip lock with a boy who she knew as the star of the high school's football team, Van Montgomery. The two teens jumped about a mile apart._

"_I'm sorry." Van said immediately getting up off the couch._

"_Mom, Dad, calm down. It's not like we were doing anything you didn't do at our age." Cheyenne said. "You've both told me stories about your teenage years, and I think what we were doing wasn't near as…"_

"_You are not helping your situation young lady." Reba cut her off._

"_Daddy, we weren't doing anything." Cheyenne turned to her father._

"_No Cheyenne. I'm with your mother on this. We left you home to watch Kyra and Jake, not sit on the couch and make-out with boys." Brock said._

"_I know, but daddy, we ordered pizza, and then Kyra and Jake just wanted to take a movie up to their rooms to watch." Cheyenne said batting her eyelashes at her father._

"_Cheyenne, you are not getting out of this one." Brock stated._

"_This isn't fair daddy." Cheyenne started to throw one of her, what Brock and Reba liked to call, mini-fits._

"_No Cheyenne." Brock said firmly. "Now go to your room. You're grounded for the rest of the week."_

"_But daddy, it's only Wednesday!" Cheyenne exclaimed._

"_Yep it is. That means you have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to think about your actions." Brock said. Reba just looked at him shocked. Usually she was the one that had to do all of the punishing, and she found it quite nice that Brock was actually taking the initiative to ground Cheyenne for having boys over when she was supposed to be watching Kyra and Jake._

_end of flashback_

"Reba, it's kind of a long story about why we're here and how long we've been here. I'll tell you about it in the morning. As for the kids, Cheyenne and her friend are watching Jake for us and Kyra is spending the weekend with a friend." Brock told her.

"Why can't you just tell me now Brock? And who is the friend that is watching Jake with Cheyenne?" Reba asked, not quite ready to give up on this yet.

"The story is much too long. You need you're rest so we can head home tomorrow." Brock replied.

"Brock, what about Cheyenne's friend? Who is it?" She asked.

Brock had hoped she'd forgotten. "Well, it's Van…essa." Brock quickly covered leaving it at Van. He knew Reba would go nuts if she thought Cheyenne was home babysitting Jake with a boy, even if it was her husband. Reba didn't remember that part.

"I didn't know she had a friend named Vanessa." Reba responded.

"Yeah she does." Brock replied. "They've just been hanging out recently."

"Oh, she hasn't really said anything to me about her." Reba stated, still unsure of whether Brock was being honest or not. Just then there was a knock at the door, and in came the nurse on duty.

"Time for your pain medication Mrs. Hart." She said sweetly, while slipping the medicine into her IV. "This is going to knock you out at least for a few hours, but hopefully it will help you sleep through the night."

"Okay." Reba said. "How long will it take before I…" She couldn't even finish her sentence before she was knocked out. Once she was asleep, Brock decided it would be a good time to call Cheyenne. He was going to need her to go to his house and get some of his stuff and take it to Reba's so that when they got home it wasn't totally apparent that he didn't live there.

"Boy, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do." Brock said to himself as he glanced at Reba peacefully sleeping one more time before leaving the room to go call Cheyenne.


	3. Chapter 3

~*~Author's Note: I'm sorry it takes me so long to update. This is my first Reba fic, and I'm really hoping you enjoy it, but I'm not a very speedy writer. I'm going to hopefully have the next chapter up soon, but you gotta let me know if you like it and want me to keep going!~*~

**Chapter 3**

Brock paced back and forth in front of Reba's room with his cell phone in his hand. He was trying to decide the best way to break the news to Cheyenne. He knew she wasn't going to take it well, but he really didn't have much of a choice. Well, except for the part where he was hoping to win Reba back. He also knew that his real focus should be on finding Barbara Jean and Henry. Part of him wanted to find them, but part of him just wanted to spend what time he did have as Reba's husband being just that. He wanted Reba to realize that he still loved her and wanted to be with her.

"Barbara Jean will come back. She has to." He said aloud to no one in particular.

"Excuse me?" The nurse at the station looked up when he started speaking.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't really talking to anyone, just trying to get some stuff out of my head." Brock said a little embarrassed, putting his phone back in his pocket.

"You're fine. Don't worry, it happens all the time here." She gave him a small smile, which Brock could tell was meant to be out of sympathy. He didn't want sympathy though. Reba was okay. He just wanted her to be okay and to get to the point that she loved him too. He couldn't wait for the day to finally hear her say those three little words that he hadn't heard from her in nearly seven years.

Brock was really trying not to get his hopes up, but he kept thinking that if she thought they were married, if he played his cards just right, by the time she got her memory back she would be totally and completely in love with him again. As he continued to contemplate what he was going to say to Cheyenne he thought of something that could be terribly wrong with this situation.

"Oh no." he said to himself. "What happens when we get home and Reba wants me to be the loving husband…in all aspects." He took a deep breath. "I can't take advantage of her when she is in this state. It just isn't right. But I can't turn her down. First of all, I love her and want to be her loving husband again. Second, she is incredibly, stunningly, amazingly gorgeous. Third, she will think that I don't want her in that way, and it's not that at all." He turned to continue pacing and noticed the nurse at the desk was looking at him funny.

"I'm sorry. I just don't know what I'm going to do." He said to her.

"Really, it's okay. Do you want someone to talk to?" She asked, hoping she could help him somehow. She saw this happen all the time when a husband was worried about his wife.

"No, it's okay. I'm going to go make this phone call. Thanks anyway." He replied, then turned to go make his call to Cheyenne.

He walked down the hall a little ways before he pulled his phone out again. He looked at it for a moment trying to figure out exactly how he was going to tell Cheyenne what had happened. He decided he would just call her and go from there. He knew there was no easy way to tell her, but he would just have to wing it and figure it out as he went.

He blew out a breath, and dialed the home phone number. He let it ring. Once…Twice…Three times, just as he decided to give up and call Cheyenne's cell, he heard someone on the other end of the phone. "Hello?" the voice said.

Brock didn't recognize it as one of his children, but he pushed that thought aside because it had been a long day and a lot had happened. "Hi." He stated simply.

"Brock?" the voice said. It was then that he realized who he was talking to.

"Barbara Jean?" he said shocked. "What…Why...Where…" he couldn't believe it.

"Brock, where are you?" she asked, stopping his stammering.

"We, well, we…" Brock tried, but he couldn't get over the fact that he was talking to her. "I thought I called Reba's house." He said incredulously.

"You did." Barbara Jean replied simply.

"Why did you answer then? I thought you left Houston? We…we were…this is all your fault." Brock finally sputtered.

"WHAT!" Barbara Jean yelled into the phone. "First of all, what are you talking about? What is my fault?"

"Reba's condition. It's all your fault. I can't believe you did this to your best friend." Brock said accusingly.

"Brock, I don't know what the heck you are talking about! I didn't do anything to Reba. I never left Houston. I've been staying with Cori Ann and her little girl downtown. I needed a break. I was just getting ready to leave town today. I went to your house to talk to you and you weren't home so I came here to talk to Reba. I was just coming over here to tell her goodbye, and Cheyenne said that you and her had left, so I came into the kitchen to leave her a goodbye card. The phone was ringing and no one was picking it up so I answered it. I don't know what you are accusing me of though. So would you like to explain yourself?" Barbara Jean was trying to keep her voice down, but was finding it awfully hard.

"Reba is lying in the hospital, with a concussion and amnesia because you wouldn't answer my phone calls. I had no idea where you had gone, and you took my son!" Brock said angrily. He knew he needed to keep his voice down because he was in the hospital, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. "You know what Barbara Jean; I called because I need to talk to Cheyenne. Is she there or should I call her cell phone?" Brock questioned.

"She's just upstairs. I'll go get her." Barbara Jean said irritated.

He heard her set the phone down, and he took a deep breath. This was going to be harder than he first thought because now he was going to have to explain to Barbara Jean as well as Cheyenne that Reba didn't have any recollection of their divorce, and that to avoid having her forget even more, he was going to have to play the part of husband for the time being. He wanted to tell Cheyenne that he was hoping things would work out for them and he could get back his job as her husband for good. Now he couldn't tell her that though. He would have to wait until he talked to Barbara Jean and figured out exactly what she was planning to do.

"Daddy?" Cheyenne's voice interrupted his thoughts. "What happened? Where are you two?"

"Cheyenne, honey, calm down. We're fine. I just needed to let you know that we were in a little bit of a wreck. I'm fine, but they wanted to check your mom out and make sure that everything was okay before they let her go home."

"Dad, what aren't you telling me?" Cheyenne asked.

Brock should have known better than to think Cheyenne wouldn't see right through him. "Well…" he took a deep breath before he started, "we were in a head-on collision. You're mom has a concussion."

"What? Is she going to be okay?" Cheyenne asked, panic evident in her voice.

"Yeah Cheyenne, she'll be fine. There is just one problem." Brock said.

"What is it daddy?" Cheyenne asked.

"Well, your mom's memory was affected a little bit by the concussion." He told her truthfully.

"Dad, there's something else. I can hear it in your voice." Cheyenne stated.

"Well…" he didn't know how to tell her so he just blurted it out, "she thinks we are still married."

"WHAT!" Barbara Jean said into the phone.

"Barbara Jean!" Brock and Cheyenne shouted together.

"Well, I knew you wouldn't tell me what was wrong with Reba, so I decided to listen to your conversation." Barbara Jean defended herself.

"I was going to tell you, but I was going to talk to you about what is going on with you first. Like why you just left me and why you took my son." Brock said getting irritated. "You know what. I'll call you back later Cheyenne. I need to go check on your mom, and I can't deal with this right now. I'm exhausted and I just can't do it."

"Okay dad, I'll talk to you soon. I am going to go deal with Barbara Jean." Cheyenne replied.

"What do you mean deal with me?" Barbara Jean asked confused.

"Barbara Jean, you have got to stop eavesdropping." Brock said, then hung up the phone as he heard Barbara Jean scream. He chuckled to himself knowing that Cheyenne was going to get on Barbara Jean for listening in on the conversation. Brock then realized why he had hung up and decided he really needed to get back to Reba's room and see how she was. He knew she would probably be sleeping, but he wanted to be there when she woke up so that she didn't panic.

When he entered the room, he looked at Reba, who was sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed. She looked incredibly beautiful to him in that moment. She had no makeup hiding her beauty, her hair was disheveled, and she had a slight smile on her face. Brock smiled just thinking of how he missed this. Then he thought about how exciting it was to be able to watch her sleep again, even if it wasn't going to last forever.

Brock decided to just sit in her room and wait until she woke up. There wasn't much else he could do. He knew he should try to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. The doctor and nurses came in about every half hour to check on Reba and see if she was still doing okay. Each time they asked Brock if he would like to use one of the empty rooms and get some sleep, but he couldn't bear to leave her side, so each time he kindly declined the offer. It was hard enough to be away long enough to make the phone call. He knew that if he was going to be able to get some sleep it would be right where he was, in the chair by the window in the corner of Reba's room.

Finally after four hours of watching her sleep, he saw her start to twitch. He stood up and walked over by the side of her bed. He gently moved the hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. Reba felt his hand touch her face, and opened her eyes to see Brock standing by the bed looking at her like any concerned husband would look at his wife.

"Hello there sleepy head." Brock quipped.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Reba asked, reaching her hand up to hold his that was still resting on her cheek.

Brock felt the spark as soon as he had touched her skin, but when she took hold of his hand, it took everything in him to not lean in and kiss her. He knew it wouldn't be awkward for her because as far as she knew he was still her husband, but he just couldn't take advantage of the situation if he wanted to have any hope of having her back in his life permanently.

"Brock?" Reba questioned when he didn't answer her.

"Huh?" Brock asked being pulled out of his thoughts by her saying his name.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Reba asked again.

"About five hours." Brock answered her.

"Did you call Cheyenne and let her know what's been goin' on?" Reba inquired.

"Yeah, about four and a half hours ago." Brock replied. "She knows what's going on and she said she and Van can watch Jake until we get home."

"Van? As in that football player?" Reba demanded.

"No…not him." Brock covered quickly. "Remember I told you she was watching Jake with her friend Vanessa? Well, Van is just her nickname."

"Oh." Reba said. "Who is watching Kyra?"

"Kyra is hanging out with her friend Barbara Jean." Brock told Reba.

"Who is that? The name sounds really familiar, but I can't seem to put a face with it." Reba tried hard to think of why the name sounded so familiar to her.

"Just a friend from her band." Brock lied.

"Her band?" Reba stared at him.

"The band. I meant the band. I just call it her band." Brock covered.

"Okay." Reba stated, knowing that Brock wasn't being completely honest with her.

"Well, I think we better get some rest. Then tomorrow I'll go get a rental car and we can head home. How does that sound?" Brock asked.

"I just woke up Brock. I'm not tired." Reba reminded him. "But why don't you get some rest?" She said with a smile.

"I don't know. I think I'll just stay awake until they come in to give you some more pain medication. Then after you fall asleep I'll get some rest." He told her.

"Brock, I'll be fine. I'm in a hospital; there are doctors and nurses everywhere." Reba said trying to convince him.

"I'm really not tired Reba; I'll be fine to wait. It shouldn't be too much longer now. They want to keep you out of pain so they've been keeping you pretty sedated." Brock told her.

"Please Brock?" Reba said giving him her best puppy dog look. She knew it wasn't near as convincing as his, but she tried anyway.

"No Reba, really I'll be just fine." Brock said.

"Well, if you won't sleep 'til I do, then will you come lay with me so that I can sleep without the drugs?" Reba asked, again trying to persuade him with her best puppy dog eyes.

"Reba I don't know if that's a good idea." Brock told her.

"Please Brock." Reba asked.

"I just don't want to hurt you. I don't know if it's the best idea." Brock reasoned.

"Brock, honey, how would you hurt me? We will just be lying together. Husband and wife. Oh come on, Brock. Please?" Reba begged. "You know that it hurts my feelings more when you are being so distant. What is going on Brock? I want the truth."

"Okay, I'll come lay with you." He said hoping she would forget about that other half.

"Okay. But if you think I'm just going to forget about finding out the truth, you are so wrong." Reba smirked, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "Brock, I can read you like a book."

"I know you have." He sighed, getting up and walking over toward her bed. She scooted over toward the wall so that he could join her on her very uncomfortable hospital bed. He carefully climbed onto the bed with her so that he didn't pull on any of the wires she was hooked up to. "Reba?" Brock said softly after he laid down and she laid her head on his chest.

"Hmmm." Was all the response he got.

"Will you make me a promise?" He asked her gently.

"Anything." She said, starting to sound a little sleepy already.

"Promise you won't be mad at me. No matter what happens." He said.

"Mmmhmm." She mumbled.

He knew she was already asleep, so he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and wrapped her in his arms. For him, everything in the world was perfect at that moment. He was right where he needed to be. For now, he and Reba were back together. Barbara Jean could wait. She would have to wait. Reba was the love of his life, and he was going to do everything in his power to make her fall for him so that when she did get her memory back it wouldn't matter. He knew what he was doing to Barbara Jean was wrong, but he just couldn't help but not care right now. All he wanted was to stay right where he was forever.

Brock tried desperately to fight off sleep, but being with Reba, even on the uncomfortable hospital bed, he couldn't help it and he was soon asleep, dreaming of each other.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_three hours later_

Brock was startled when he felt a hand gently shake his shoulder. "Mr. Hart?" an unfamiliar voice called his name.

He opened his eyes and looked around the room. "Huh?" he asked groggily.

"Mr. Hart, we need to give your wife some more pain medication." the voice said.

"Okay go ahead." He replied turning more and snuggling into Reba's embrace more.

"Mr. Hart?" the voice chuckled.

"Huh?" he asked again.

"We can't give her more medication because you are laying on the iv that it goes through."

With that Brock opened his eyes and looked around. "Oh, I'm so sorry Doctor Hunt." Brock said embarrassed.

"It's okay. We came in a few hours ago to give it to her, but you were both sleeping so soundly with small smiles that we didn't want to disturb you. But if we don't get this medicine to her soon, her headache will be a lot worse than if she doesn't get the drugs." Doctor Hunt stated.

"Okay." Brock said, slowly making his way out of Reba's embrace and climbing off the bed. The minute he left her arms, he felt a sudden chill. He couldn't believe that just a few hours with her had affected him like that. He knew he still loved her, but he just didn't know what he was going to do when she got her memory back.

"Mr. Hart?" Doctor Hunt's voice brought him out of his reverieHe.

"Yeah." Brock replied.

"I think she will want to go home soon." Doctor Hunt said. "But as I recall you told me earlier that you would need to go rent a car. I think now would be the perfect time. She will be out at least for a couple more hours."

"Yeah, okay." He stated. "Where is the nearest car rental place?" he asked her.

"It's about four miles down the highway." she told him. "I believe that Rebecca, the nurse that let you in here, is heading home and she lives that direction. Would you like me to see if she could give you a ride?"

"Thanks that would be great." Brock answered with a small smile.

"Anything to help." Doctor Hunt said, as she left the room.

Brock turned to follow her, but quickly turned back around and walked over to the side of Reba's bed. "Reba, honey, I'm going to go rent us a car. I should be back before you wake up, but I just wanted to let you know so that you don't panic." With that, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek, then turned to walk away

"Brock…" Reba said.

"Yeah?" Brock answered turning around again to face her. He chuckled when he realized she was still sleeping soundly. This was a good sign for him. It meant that she must be dreaming about him, and that was one step in the right direction as far as Brock was concerned.

He decided that the quicker he left to rent the car, the quicker he would be able to return, so he quickly walked out the door and over to the nurses' station where Rebecca was standing with her purse on her shoulder and keys in hand.

"Ready?" she asked as he looked up at her.

"Yeah." Brock said. "Rebecca, I really appreciate this. I'm sorry to be such a hassle. Thank you so much for doing this for a complete stranger."

"It's really no problem. I live that way anyway." Rebecca told him, hoping to put his mind at ease. It really was no big deal to her. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and she loved to help people who were in a rough situation. 'That's why I became a nurse after all.' She thought to herself.

"So, where are you from?" she asked as they headed toward the exit to the parking lot.

"Houston." He said. "We were on our way to find my wife."

"Wait. I thought Mrs. Hart was your wife?" she said confused.

"Oh yeah. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone." Brock said, hitting himself in the forehead. "Well, I guess I can tell you. You won't tell right?"

"Of course not. You and Mrs. Hart seem like the perfect couple." Rebecca said.

"Well, technically she's my ex-wife. We have three children together." Brock started, just as they were getting to her car. They climbed in and he continued to tell her the story of what had happened since he and Reba had split, and how he was hoping to win her back. Just as he got to the end of his story, they arrived at the car rental company. "Thanks again for the ride Rebecca."

"No problem." She said with a sincere smile. "Oh, and Brock."

"Yeah?" he said.

"I hope you get her back. You two really are meant to be together." With that Rebecca drove away and Brock walked into the building to rent a car so that he and Reba could head home.

He walked up to the desk, "I need to rent a car please?" he asked the girl sitting at the counter.

"What kind of car are you looking for sir?" she asked politely.

"I just need something that will get me and my wife back to Houston." He said without thinking.

"Okay sir." The girl said, then reached for a pamphlet of information on the cars that they had available. "Here is what we have on hand right now." She handed him a list of cars.

Brock looked them over and quickly decided that he would rather pay a little bit more for a small SUV than rent a small car to drive back to Houston. "I think I'd like to take a look at the Honda CR-V." he said after finally making a decision.

"Okay. That's right this way." She said stepping out from behind the counter and leading him out to the parking lot.

Once they arrived at the car, Brock looked it over and decided it would be perfect for them to use to get back to Houston.

"This will be great." Brock told the girl.

"Okay. If you will just come inside with me to fill out some paperwork, I'll get you the keys and you'll be good to go." She said, then turned to head back into the building.

Brock followed her in and walked up to the counter as she went around to the other side to grab the papers he would need to fill out. He took the papers from her and took a seat in one of the chairs just a few feet away from the desk and started to fill in the information for renting a car. It took him about twenty minutes to fill it all out. After he completed the papers he stood up and took them back over to the desk where he handed them to the girl and she asked him to wait for a minute while she went to get the keys for the car.

"Here you go sir." She said as she handed them to him.

"Thanks a lot." Brock replied as he walked back out into the lot to get the car and head back to the hospital to get Reba. He knew she would be wanting to go home. He just hoped that she would still be asleep when he got back. He really didn't think she would panic if she awoke and he wasn't there, but at the same time he didn't want to take that chance.

He arrived back at the hospital, parked the car, and headed straight for Reba's room. He opened the door slowly, and smiled when she was still curled up on the hospital bed sound asleep.

Just as he was sitting down in the chair over by the window, the door opened and Doctor Hunt walked in.

"I just wanted to see how she was doing and make sure that you know that as soon as she wakes up you are more than welcome to fill out the release papers and take her home." The doctor told Brock.

"Okay." Brock said, then looked at her. "Thank you so much for everything Doctor Hunt. I'm sorry about the situation, but thanks for letting me be with her. I don't know what I would do if I lost her." He finished looking over to Reba.

"I understand Mr. Hart, but you need to remember that she is going to be in a very fragile state for the next little bit. So, you are going to need to think through everything you say just to make sure that it doesn't make her confused." She replied. "Oh, and you're welcome. I can see how much you love her when you look at her just like that."

"Hmmm…" Brock said. "Oh, sorry. I was a little sidetracked." Brock admitted sheepishly.

"Yeah, I know." Doctor Hunt said with a chuckle and walked out of the room.

Brock walked over to Reba and gently laid a hand on her cheek. "Reba?" he called her name gently. He knew he probably should let her sleep, but he figured if he could get her signed out and into the car, she could sleep all the way back to Houston. Really Brock knew he was being selfish, but he was getting really tired, and he couldn't sleep here in the hospital. He wanted to get back home, and get a good night's rest. He just wasn't quite sure what was going to happen when they got back to Houston, and that is what worried him. He figured they were going to have to go home and deal with Barbara Jean and their children sometime, he just didn't want any of them to jeopardize Reba's health by saying or doing something that would mess with her memory.

"Reba?" he said again, and this time she nestled into his hand more, and a smile spread across her face. This made Brock's heart leap and he smiled too.

"Hmm…" Reba responded.

"Well, if you're ready, the doctor said we can get your release papers signed and go home. How does that sound?" Brock asked, moving a piece of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"That sounds great." She replied, still sounding a little sleepy. "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed wrapped in your arms."

Brock hadn't thought of that, but the idea made his smile grow even bigger. He knew he should take it slow so that if Reba's memory did come back she didn't think he was taking advantage of her, but he couldn't help it. He loved her after all. "Okay," he said, "I'll go get the papers filled and ask Doctor Hunt to come make sure you're ready to go. Then when I return we can head home." It felt good to call it 'home'. It hadn't been his home in nearly six years, but now, at least for the time, it was home.

"Okay." Reba said. "I love you."

"I love you too Reba. You will never understand how much." He said with a smile then left the room.


End file.
